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Mountain Dragon Triad
The 'Mountain Dragon Triad '(simplified Chinese: 山龙黑社会) are an antagonistic organisation featured in ''Robbing Liberty''. During the narrative, they are primarily responsible for the kidnapping of Jessica Biggs, the wife of James Biggs, whom they hold to ransom for $60,000. This event formed the basis of Biggs' motive for robbing the Bank of Liberty. They are rivals of the Syndicate after the killing of Wan Kuok-koi, a high ranking member within the gang's hierarchy, by Jake Dillinger. However, according to the Syndicate, this killing was not sanctioned by them, and was carried out by another group, or was an act of a rogue hitman. To restore peace between the gangs, the Mountain Dragon Triad demand that the Syndicate kill the man responsible for the murder. Origins The origins of the Mountain Dragon Triad can be traced back to Hong Kong circa 1985, where they were then known as 人民解放运动, or "People's Liberation Movement". Originally established as a revolutionist and politically-charged movement against the Chinese government and led by Hong Cai, the group descended into an underground criminal organisation after losing public funding and support. They began dealing primarily in narcotics and theft of valuable shipments. During the early 1990s, the group suffered further decline as government-led initiatives began to clamp down on organised crime. Their leader, Hong Cai, was arrested and sentenced to death during this period for murder, kidnapping, theft and larceny. With this, the group suffered a serious blow, and was rendered almost obsolete. In 1996, the organisation was revived by Zhi Chen, a bitter ex-politician and former associate of Hong Cai. Seeking revenge for the treatment of the Chinese people by the government, Chen spent the next few years rebuilding the fallen group into the Mountain Dragon Triad. However, instead of committing petty offences as they did under Cai's rule, the MDT became a semi-legitimate group, opening a chain of restaurants and furniture stores in Hong Kong. In 2001, the group were a successful enterprise of businesses, yet most of their income was still obtained through illicit means, such as racketeering and money laundering. They managed to avoid police attention through bribery and other promised services in return for absolute secrecy regarding their true business practices. Expansion overseas With the success of the group under Zhi Chen, the group began to expand its influence abroad, namely into the United States. In 2003, they managed to secure a property deal in Chinatown, Liberty City. There they opened a restaurant, which they designed as a platform to further exert their influence on the area. After only a few months, they opened a plumbing business, which was then used as a front for a narcotics operation. They also opened a small carpet business to serve the same purpose. By 2005, the Mountain Dragon Triad had a significant foothold over the distribution of drugs in the southern Algonquin district, and had even managed to bribe top law officials to keep them from attracting government agencies. Recent exploits In 2008, the MDT had a large group of nearly 5,000 members and associates. Outside of their main operations, the MDT introduced a number of street gangs to patrol the streets and protect their assets. In 2009, they also opened a small number of casinos, hoping to generate more income from gamblers that were known to populate the area. One client of their casinos is James Biggs, who, over many months of careless gambling drove up a huge amount of debt, neglecting to realise the trouble he would eventually land himself in. This would later lead to his wife's kidnapping at the hands of one of MDT's street gangs to recover the debt. Trivia * The overall structure and operation of the Mountain Dragon Triad echos that of the 14k Triad, another Hong Kong-based triad organisation.